Tiger Woods Shoots Career Low Saturday, Actually Finishes Sunday. Progress.

Image courtesy of Zimbio

It’s no secret that the career of legendary golfer Tiger Woods has been on the decline for years. While there is the occasional glimmer of hope, like his performance at the Masters this year, these days it seems to be one low after another.

The latest came at the Memorial on Saturday in Dublin, Ohio, where he shot a stunning career-worst 85—the worst of just three rounds in the 80s he’s ever had. One of which was an 82, which he shot in the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open earlier this year.

Woods finished the day in last place at +13. Over the course of the day he hit just seven of the 14 fairways in regulation, nine of 18 greens and putted 32 times. It came as no surprise when Woods declined to speak to the media following his round from hell.

There’s no sugarcoating what went on over the weekend with Woods, with the U.S. Open nearly upon us, there is a silver lining to be found in this knee-deep muck. Even though he didn’t engage with reporters on Saturday, he showed up for the final round on Sunday and finished.

Woods has been stricken with some fairly well timed injuries of late, which usually coincide with his worst play, “forcing” him to pull out of a few tournaments. Despite humiliating himself on Saturday, Woods showed up on Sunday—wearing red—and finished the tournament.

He didn’t have a great day, but shooting 74 for a +2 probably was certainly an improvement. It actually looked like Woods was on pace for a good final round, until two double bogeys over the final four holes sunk him.

In the end Woods finished dead last at Muirfield Village, a course he’s won at five times previously. He was embarrassed by his performance, but said that going through “painful moments” like are what help him make advancements, like he did at the Masters earlier this year.

“This is a lonely sport,” Woods said. “That’s one of the hardest things about the game of golf, and it’s also one of the best things about the game of golf. When you’re on, no one is going to slow you down. When you’re off, no one is going to pick you up either. It’s one of those sports that’s tough. Deal with it.”

Obviously his game needs work, but Woods’ attitude has definitely improved. Not only did he play the final round with no hope of climbing out of the basement, he said all the right things after. The only thing worse than setting a new career low on Saturday would’ve been not showing up on Sunday.

Woods put himself in a much better place mentally for the upcoming U.S. Open, which begins June 15^th at Chambers Bay in Washington.